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Kumho tires are Junk.


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Ive been dealing with a vibration at all speeds.When I first got it the dealer said it was flat spots from stitting.I said ok sure and we put some miles on it.Fast forward 800 miles the vibration is still there.The car only had about 850 miles total. Comes to find out all 4 tires still had flat spots so the dealer change out the Kumhos for a Brigestone tire IMO is a much better tire.Problem fixed and no vibration so if anyone has the same issue check that cause the dealer said also they been seeing that issue also.

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  • 2 years later...

Kuhmo tires are generally excellent - they wear well and grip well for normal duty applications.

Of course your wheels could be out of round too, or your dealer could have used a tire bead lubricant that allowed the tire bead to twist on the rim if he used too much and you 'accelerate briskly' before they set (BTDT). Or his balancing machine may need calibration.

As to swapping summer/winter tires, I had an issue with another Chrysler I owned that was equipped with Pirelli tires that NO ONE could balance . . . except for Pirelli themselves (their head office used to be near my home). No one does on car balancing anymore - but Pirelli had a setup - they picked up the vehicle, did their magic and I had no problems since.

If you store tires standing up they WILL develop flat spots. If your tire changer doesn't clean the wheels before balancing, then if there is a clump of dirt you can get vibration if/when it washes away.

I simply have 2 sets of wheels with the tires pre-mounted. I have a small hydraulic lift, an impact driver and a torque wrench and do my own swapping for both cars each season - takes an hour and I don't need to schelp tires and wheels and they are stored lying down, stacked. The beads last and they don't need to be rebalanced.

Tire pressure is a key - note that a lot of pressure gauges are not accurate. Many places will set your pressure to 27-29 pounds - the DJ wants 36 pounds - that'd do it. I have a very accurate electronic gauge and run my cars at 2 pounds over the manufacturer's recommended settings for better rolling resistance.

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tried rebalancing the tires and same crap. help!

I really sympathize with the problems you seem to be having with the Kumho tires, and I am certainly not doubting you. I hope you get them fixed.

As I pointed out yesterday in another thread, the Kumho tires are made in South Korea the same country that makes Hankook tires (a very respected name).

I really don't think the problem is with the tires themselves, it seems to be the oddball size 225/55/19 that is the problem, although replacement tires in that size are becoming more plentiful as we speak. As I mentioned, I have a 2010 R/T AWD and so far these tires while not the greatest tires, they have proved to be very satisfactory to date. I have had these tires since August 2010, they have been through 2 winters the last one being quite severe with over 2 meters of snow.

Bramfrank pointed out tire roations and tire pressure are two very important factors to consider in tire life and tire performance. As I also mentioned yesterday, the rims are prone to have snow and ice build up when it freezes on to the rim and make your car wobble. Several times this winter this has happened to me. As was also pointed out to you balancing is a very important task and your rims must be very clean so that no mud, ice or snow affect it.

I wish you sucess with these tires.

Terry

Edited by Windancer
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HOLD IT! BEFORE ANY OF YOU BLAME YOUR CRAPY KUMHO TIRES...LET ME GIVE YO AN UPDATE ON MY CASE. 2011 RT...KUMHOS 19" HAS LESS THAN 15K USE ON THEM WITH THEIR OWN ORIGINAL RIMS.

SO I TOOK BACK THE TIRES FOR REBALANCING FOR THE THIRD TIME AT COSTCO AND I EVEN SAW THE READINGS ON THEIR MACHINE WHICH WERE ALL SHOWING 0-0 BUT SAME DAMN THING....STEERING WHEEL STILL SHOOK. SO I BROUGHT IT TO MY DEALER TODAY WHO CHECKED THE TIRES....ALL 4 TIRES WERE ALL MIS-BALANCED! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?...THEY VARY BETWEEN 1.5 TO 2.5 OFF BALANCED. WHICH IS PRETTY BIG APPARENTLY. DROVE THE CAR HOME AND IT WAS BACK TO ITS GOOD OLD SMOOTH SELF AGAIN! COSTCO'S DAMN MACHINE WAS APPARENTL CALIBRATED BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IT WASN'T ABLE TO PROPERLY BALANCE THESE 19 INCHERS FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON. BOTTOM LINE....COSTCO FAILED ME THREE TIMES!

I WILL PURSUE COSTCO AND MAKE THEM PAY FOR THE 100$ OR SO IN COSTS INCURRED FROM MY DEALER ...$85/HOUR MECHANIC SERVICE!

I WILL NEVER EVER BRING MY JOURNEY R/T BACK TO COSTCO AGAIN. ..

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No problems here. Kumho's on 19's. Been through one pretty rough winter (Barrie, ON Canada). Yah,.. had some wheel slip on inclines but nothing serious. Been to Florida and back (5000km's+) with no issues at any speed - 60, 70, 80mph no problems at all. 21000km's so far.

Sorry to hear you are having issues but it is not the tires as they come from the factory. It's aftermarket work causing your issues I believe.

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I have an 09 that had the kumhos, which I got rid of early. Terrible grip in rain or snow, rapid wear (but most new car tires are soft anyway), and difficult to balance. I put Michillan tires on now, have great grip in snow & rain, but balance was also an issue, not because of the tires but the 19 inch rims! My CostCo dealer knew that you need a special adapter (kinda looks like 4 fingers if you will) that the tire dealer did not know about. If you just mount the rim onto the machine, it will balance the tire, but wrong. If you use the adapter, bingo, perfect balance. Out of balance may have nothing to do with the tires at all, it could be the guy doing the balancing!

just some food for thought.....

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Just put my 19 inch Kumo's Solus 3 season tires and rims back on tonight, what a difference compared to my 17 inch winters. Turns are tighter, much less road noise, and driving feels very smooth (except of course the lower profile tires feeling the bumps a little harder)

No complaints about my Kumo's so far.

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POSITIVE ENDING ON MY CASE..COSTCO JUST CALLED ME CONFIRMING THAT THERE IS INDEDD A SPECIAL BALANCING ADAPTOR THEY FAILED TO USE AND ACKNOWLEDGED THEIR MISTAKE. THANKS TO OHARE-FRED FOR HIS INPUT! THEY ARE PAYING MY GARAGE SERVICE COSTS IN FULL PLUS A COMPLIMENTARY $50 COSTCO CARD IN CASE I NEED TO BUY A 50LB TUB OF MAYONAISE.

KUDOS TO COSTCO FOR DOING THE RIGHT TIHNG BUT TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE...I WILL STILL BE CAUTIOUS EVER BRING MY R/T BACK THERE...MAY NOT BE WORTH THE CHEAPER LABOR AT COSTCO.

WE'LL SEE.

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POSITIVE ENDING ON MY CASE..COSTCO JUST CALLED ME CONFIRMING THAT THERE IS INDEDD A SPECIAL BALANCING ADAPTOR THEY FAILED TO USE AND ACKNOWLEDGED THEIR MISTAKE. THANKS TO OHARE-FRED FOR HIS INPUT! THEY ARE PAYING MY GARAGE SERVICE COSTS IN FULL PLUS A COMPLIMENTARY $50 COSTCO CARD IN CASE I NEED TO BUY A 50LB TUB OF MAYONAISE.

KUDOS TO COSTCO FOR DOING THE RIGHT TIHNG BUT TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE...I WILL STILL BE CAUTIOUS EVER BRING MY R/T BACK THERE...MAY NOT BE WORTH THE CHEAPER LABOR AT COSTCO.

WE'LL SEE.

I'm glad everything worked out with you and Costco! :) Now you can hit the Caps Lock one more time to stop the shouting. :D

Edited by Journey_SeXT
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  • 3 weeks later...
Kuhmo tires are generally excellent - they wear well and grip well for normal duty applications.

Beg to differ. Our '10 SXT has the 17" and I was disappointed that I had to repllace the OEM Kumho's at 42K. Wet/dry traction was acceptable, but longevity was much to be desired. Replaced them with Firestone Affinity's (70K warranty) and after 13K they still look new.

If you really want good tires that provide excellent traction and longevity, go with Michelins. The OEM's on my '06 Ram lasted 111K miles, but when it came to replace them I just could not afford them.

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  • 2 months later...

Put on 225-55-19 toyo versado cuv today, I was in dire need of swapping the kuhmos for at least 10000k now, I'm at 60000 - the toyos run better, are more responsive and although they seemed a tad noisier at lower speeds, they were quieter at highway speeds. I think the low speed thing has to do with them sounding different, not really louder.

It can't be worse than the Kuhmos anyways. And they look better, if that really matters.

Driving on gravel roads with an ATV on a trailer with these awful worn kuhmos was... unsettling. Terrible, terrible tires IMO.

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My 300M was built with Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 tires which I love. My other 300M had Falken Ziex tires and they were awful. Switched them to Michelin Primacy and they are almost as good as the Pilot HX. I was skeptical of the Kumho's but after driving the car a few hundred miles, I must say I'm pretty impressed with their smoothness and how quiet they are. The car's cornering grip is very good too, with no squeal. Zero vibration issues to speak of. At this point I see no reason to spend extra money to upgrade to Michelins. I'll reserve final judgement after I see how long they last and how good they perform in snow. The Pilot HX, in particular, is outstanding in the snow on my 300M, believe it or not. It's one of the reasons why we skipped AWD when we ordered our Journey - we've never been close to being stuck in snow.

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I don't know why people complain so much about them. I'm going on 31k miles now with the stock Kuhmos and they are doing just fine. Still have probably 10-15k miles left on them. They are nice and quiet and wear evenly. They do good on pavement; of course they won't do well in dirt or offroad. They weren't meant for that.

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I don't know why people complain so much about them. I'm going on 31k miles now with the stock Kuhmos and they are doing just fine. Still have probably 10-15k miles left on them. They are nice and quiet and wear evenly. They do good on pavement; of course they won't do well in dirt or offroad. They weren't meant for that.

I would tend to agree, mine have 36,000 kilometers on a 2010 Journey, while they aren't the best tires (what OEM tires are?) they have treated me well. I don't drive this car much in the summer, prefering my convertible.

Terry

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Hey Terry I live in South Texas where it's usually Hot and the stock Tires Lasted about 33,000 Miles I replaced them with Michelin Defenders Which have a 90,000 mile warranty rating and love them. Better ride and they are great in the rain. Don't have any idea how they are in snow because that is something I would have to travel to see.

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Personally I like the Kuhmos that came on the Journey. They are smooth, handle well and are generally good in wet weather.

Nothing like the Wranglers that came on my Patriot. Those were the worst tire in wet weather I ever had. I never felt safe driving on those and was very happy to replace them when worn.

The best tires I have had are the Michelin Hydroedges. Now there is a nice tire. I even saw a very slight improvement in fuel economy when running those on my Patriot.

Edited by klingoff
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  • 2 weeks later...

While not the best, they did ok for me. My 2011 Crew has 75,000km on it now, 54,000 with the Kumho's that came on it, the rest on my winter tires, and I am just replacing them now with a set of Michelin Latitude Tour HP's from Costco (they have a deal on btw right now) 235/55/19.

They were fine in the rain, but not even one winter on them and I was off to buy a set of 17' winters and rims to go on.

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